Potato chip bleaching equipment



May 26, 1953 H. D. FURNISS 2,639,656

POTATO CHIP BLEACHING EQUIPMENT Filed June 9, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR. HENRY D. FURNISS ATTORNEY May 26, 1953 H. D. FURNISS 2,639,656

POTATO CHIP BLEACHING EQUIPMENT Filed June 9, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2IFIG.6

INVENTOR. HENRY D. FURNISS ATTORNEY Patented May 26, 1953 2,639,656POTATO CHIP BLEACHING EQUIPMENT Henry D. Furniss, Atlanta, Ga..,assignor to Gordon Foods, Inc., Atlanta, Ga., a corporation of GeorgiaApplication June 9, 1951, Serial No. 230,760

known that occasionally some of the finished chips will appear dark incolor, as if burned, and will have an unpalatable taste which rendersthem unsuitable for marketing. In an efiort to overcome this difficulty,inspection and experim ntation was first given to the cooking oils. Asanother precautionary step the frequenc of cleaning the various machinesand tanks through which the potatoes passed was increased. None of this,however, provided a permanent cure for this occasional disturbance,inasmuch as the trouble lay within the potatoes. Food chemists employedin this problem have suggested bleaching in a solution of sodiumbisulphate, or other suitable agent, for approximately one minute atsubstantially 180 F; but, up to the time of the present application, noone has successfullysolved the problem of providing automatic machineryof such construction that the continuous features of the existingmachinery would not be interferred with, and making provision for quickand easy change from the usual meth- 0d of cooking to the bleach method,and vice versa.

It is an object, therefore, of the present invention to provide atumbling tank used with prior art machinery for the preparation of 190-.

tato chips, which tumbling tank is arranged and constructed so as toby-pa-ss the potato slices from their normal steps of processing to givethem an extra, and heretofore commercially unused processing bath.

It is a further object of the invention to provide such mechanism whichalso includes thermostatically controlled heating coils for maintainingthe liquid bath at an even temperature.

Another object of the invention is to provide a conveyor belt arrangedto carry the potato slices over the length of the tumbling tank in orderto subject the moving slices to the steam before the tumbling processbegins.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an automaticdispenser for a chemical which is placed into the bath, which chemicaltends to produce uniformity of color in the slices at their finalcooking.

Another highly important object of the invention is the provision ofinclined conveyors so attached to the tumbling tank itself as to permitthe entire mechanism to be positioned adpacent to, and used inconnection with, any prior art tank, without a definite connection bymeans of bolts or screws, and with provision for putting the addedequipment selectively into and out of use quickly and easily, at will,with a minimum of movement and without alteration or change in existingequipment.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent in thecourse of the following detailed description when taken in connectionwith the drawing in which like characters of reference designatecorresponding parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional View taken through anembodiment of my invention in an auxiliary tumbling mechanism for potatoslices.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a left end view of the device illustrated in Fig. 1 with aportion of the end wall broken away.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary View of one end of a tumbling barrel used inconnection with the invention.

Fig. 5 is a partially broken isometric view of the dispenser mechanismfor injecting a chemical into the bath of the tank.

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatical plan view illustrating the path of travel ofthe potato slices from certain steps in a prior art process through thepresent invention.

In the drawing, numeral ll! designates generally a bleaching tank whichis made rectangular in shape and provided with suitable legs I I. Thetank may be made of stainless steel, or may be treated in any manner toprevent corrosion. At one end of the tank, and anchored to the sidewalls thereof, is a cross member 12 which, in the present instance, issimply a length of steel channel welded at its ends to the side walls ofthe tank and serving as a support for a bearing l3. In alignment withthis bearing [3 is another bearing 14 positioned in the left end wall ofthe tank as viewed in Fig. 1. Rotatably journaled in these two bearingsis the shaft l5 of a tumbling barrel which is designated generally bythe numeral IS. The barrel is made of a screen wire mesh formed into theshape of a cylinder, the ends thereof being finally affixed to a pair ofend rims ll. As seen in Fig. 4, the rim is simply a metal band or wheelprovided with spokes [8 extending from a operation of the device.

the barrel 6.

3 hub IS. The hub is is, of course, bored for the shaft |5 which isrotatably mounted in the previously mentioned bearings i3 and I4.

As illustrated in Fig. l, the shaft I5 extends through and beyond theleft end wall of the tank |fi and is provided with a sprocket 2|. Meansfor rotating this sprocket includes a conventional gear reducer 22, anelectric motor 23, with a connecting chain 24. Thus, upon supplyingcurrent to the motor 22, the tumbling barrel I6 is made to revolve. Oneof the spokes it at the righthand end of the barrel I6 is provided withaim or vane 28 more clearly illustrated in Fig. 4. The vane 26 is turnedangularly with respect to the direction of rotation of the barrel so asto pull the solution inwardly through the barrel and force it out theopposite end. This operation will be more clearly pointed out in thedescription of 7 Moreover, inside the barrel l3 is another vane 2E1placed slightly angularly with respect to the longitudinal axis of thebarrel, so that when the barrel I6 is rotated, the bath will not only beagitated but actually made to move through the barrel as describedabove. While I have shown a single such vane, it is understood thatseveral could be used according to the agitation desired. Short lengthsof these vanes could be placed in overlapping relationship as spiralsalong the inner i'vall surface of the barrel l6.

At each end of the tumbling barrel I8, I have provided balfle plates orpartition walls 25 and 26 having holes bored therein of a diametersufficient to slidably receive the end rim portion H of the tumblingbarrel it. By such construction the potato slices are made to enter thebarrel at the right-hand end 01' the bleaching tank as viewedin Fig. 1due to the churning action of the vane 2E), and are floated to theopposite end of the barrel in the aqueous bath. By placing the twopartition walls 25 and 28 at the ends or the barrel, thepotato slicesare prevented from. 001- lecting at the sides of the barrel where theymight be lost in the process. To further assist the potato slices inentering the tumbling barrel |6, I have provided a screen baffle 2|fixed. to both the side walls of the tank Ill and positioned angularlytherein so as to direct the potato slices into Should a portion of thepotato slices be extra heavy and have a tendency to sink, they will becaught by this screen and directed into the tumbling barrel withoutbeing allowed to settle in the bottom of the tank. The screen bafile 2|also allows the agitated bath to move freely through the barrel with theminimum amount of restriction.

In Fig. I it will also be noted that the bleaching bath is kept atalevel 27 slightly above the axial center line of the barrel it whichalmost reaches the topmost diametrical point of the end rims II. Bykeeping the bath at this level, the potato slices are certain he besubmerged in the solution when the barrel and vane begin the tumblingaction.

Positioned immediately above the barrel IS in the tank ill is a conveyorbelt 28 passed over the two rollers 2e and 3|). These rollers areprovided with shafts 3| and 32 which have their ends rotatably mountedin brackets 33 depending from two identical plates 34 welded orotherwise aflixed to the top edge of the two side plates of the tank Id. Across the divided. platform thus formed I have placed an electricmotor 35 which drives a speed reducing unit 35. The speed'reducing unit,turn, is made to rotate the shaft 32 him earls of suitable sprockets anda connecting "chain 36".

Numeral 3'1 designates steam coils which I have placed inside tank |0along each of the longer sides for the purpose of heating the bleachingbath. As seen in Fig. 2, the steam coils enter the tank from a pressurecontrolling unit 38 which may be any type as disclosed by the prior art.This unit also includes a thermostat Iiiil used for automaticallyadmitting steam to maintain a given temperatur in the bath. A visiblethermometer it is conveniently positioned on the tank ii] so that anoperator may readily observe any variations of the settings of the steamunit. A mentioned above, the bath should be kept at a temperature near180 Fahrenheit.

By further experimentation I have noted a marked improvement in thefinal chips when the potato slices were subjected to the steam risingfrom the bath as they are moved along the conveyor 28 for their tumblingand bleaching process. In order to conserve a greater portion of thissteam, I have provided a removable hood 4| covering a greater portion ofthe bleaching tank as illustrated in Fig. 1.

At one end or the tank In is a mixing tank 42 having an inlet watersupply line 43 with a valve and float mechanism 44 attached thereto. Thetank 42 also supports a container 45, for sodium bisulphate or othersuitable bleaching agent. The container 45 has its own dispensing valvemechanism 46. The tank 42 is supplied with an outlet line' 41 leadinginto the tumbling tank It, and the line is provided with a control valve48. From the illustration in Fig. 5, it can be seen that by setting thechemical valve 48 it may be made to dispense a small amount of bleachingchemical into a fresh supply of water held at a given volume by means ofthe water valve and float mechanism 4% which also controls the waterlevel 21 in the tank 10. This solution is then dispensed at any rate andvolume into the tumbling tank by means of the valve 48 through theoutlet line 41. The tank i0 is provided with an overflow pipe for thesolution as well as return lines for the steam coils. While neither ofthese are shown in the drawing, they conform to general practice insimilar constructions.

In order to bring the sliced potatoes into the tank for their bleachingprocess, I have provided a conveyor designated generally in the drawingby the numeral 49. This conveyor consists of a fixed rack of spaced bars50, 50, welded or otherwise aflixed to one of the side walls of the tankl0. These spaced bars, as shown in Fig. 3, are made to declinedownwardly from the top of the tank It toward a prior art washing tank5|. The conveyor frame 52 is arranged to slide longitudinally upon thespaced slide bars 50 so that the entire conveyor may be moved from adownward, operative position to an upper, inoperative position, as shownby the dotted lines of the drawing. Such construction permits theconveyor to be lowered over theedge of the prior art tank iii to receivethe potato slices in order to by-pass them through the processing of thepresent invention. Instead of having to lift the conveyor over the edgeof the tank 5| for its removal, the conveyor is simply slid upwardlyalong its inclined path as describedabove. l' he conveyor frame 52supports a roller 53 at the lower end and a similar roller 54 at theupper end, with suitable wire mesh chain belt 55 passed overbothr'ollers. The upper" '54s provided with a sprocket 56 on an outerend of its shaft, which sprocket is used to move the chain belt 55 by ofthe conveyor belt 65.

means of an electric motor 51, a speed reducer 58 and a connecting chain59. In Fig. 1, it will be noted that the upper end ofthis conveyor ispositioned at the left-hand end of the tank II at the end of the steamhood 4| and in such position as to deposit the sliced potatoes itcarries onto the conveyor belt 28 within the tank In.

At the extreme left-hand end of the tank Hi, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2,I have provided another conveyor designated generally by the numeral 69.This conveyor is inclined upwardly out of the tank l and is made to liein a special trough -5l forming part of the general tank [9. It will benoted that this trough SI is made to such height as to coincide with theheight of the prior art washing tank 5| with which it is adapted foruse. This conveyor is made similar to those previously mentioned, havinga main frame 62 carrying an upper roller 63 and a lower roller 64 with aconnecting wire mesh chain belt 95. I have found that, for some unknownreason, slices of potatoes which are warm have a greater tendency toslide than those which are cold, even at the same degree of inclination.It is neces sary, therefore, that the conveyor belt 65 be provided withcleats 65' to prevent the slices of potatoes from slipping back into thetank ID. The belt 65 is rotated upon the rollers 63 and E4 by means ofan electric motor '66, and a speed reducing unit Bl, which, in turn,rotates the upper driving roll 63 by a conventional chain and sprocket.It will be noted that the lower end of this conveyor 69 is placed wellbeneath the liquid level 21 in the tank l9 so as to be able to receivethe potato slices as they are tumbled out the end of the tumbling barrelI6. As illustrated in Fig. 1, the compartment defined by the partitionwall 25 and the end of the tank It] is slightly greater in width thanthe width Actually, the working clearance for the belt 65 is made smallenough so as to substantially close the compartment so that the potatoslices will not be able to accumulate behind theconveyor. In Fig. 3 itwill be noted that I have positioned another wire screen baffle 22 atthe delivery end of the barrel l6 and angularly disposed above the lowerend of the conveyor 6!} so as to prevent any slices of potatoes fromfalling to the tank bottom and thus not picked up by the conveyor.

Having described in detail the construction of my invention, its use andadvantages will now be more particularly pointed out. In Fig. 6 of thedrawing, I have illustrated diagrammatically the connection of thepresent invention with machines of the prior art for the processing ofpotato slices. In this illustration, numeral 68 designates a slicingmachine which cuts the potatoes into slices of the proper thickness forcooking. Leaving the slicing machine, the slices of potatoes pass in thedirection of the arrows into their first washing and tumbling tank 69.This prior art tank is also provided with a tumbling barrel made similarto that of the present invention, and the potato slices are drawn, byagitation of the water in the barrel, toward the opposite or outlet endof the tank. This bath is employed to remove the starches from thepotatoes. At the end of this tank 69 is a prior art conveyor belt 19having one end dipped into the end of the tank 69 and arranged toreceive the potato slices to lift them from the bath of the tank andconvey them upwardly in order to dump them into a rinsing tank 5|. Therinsin tank 5| contains a bath of cold water by which the slices arerinsed of the remaining traces of starches before being finally carriedupwardly on the wide conveyor belt II for depositing into the vat ofcooking oil.

Referring again to the drawing, it is noted that my invention may beplaced adjacent to, and used with, the prior art machinery withoutnecessitating any definite connections by means of tools or otherequipment. By positioning the tank II as shown, the conveyor 49 isextended over the side edge of the prior art rinsing tank ill and underthe depositing end of the prior art conveyor belt 10. Thus my conveyor49 is able to receive and by-pass all of the potato slices which wouldnormally go into the rinsing tank 5|. The slices pass upwardly on theconveyor 49 and are deposited on the end of the conveyor belt 28 whichis positioned in my tumbling tank [9. As the slices move in thedirection of the arrows, they pass beneath the hood H and are subjectedto the action of the steam which has risen from the hot bath in thetank. Finally they are cast into the bath in the rear compartmentdefined by the right-hand partition wall 29 and the end of the tank. Asbefore described, the rotation of the tumbling barrel l6, together withthe action of the vane 20, agitates the bath, pulling the slices throughthe barrel and causing them to pass into the other end compartmentdefined by the other partition wall 2 5 and the opposite end of the tankll. During this agitation, the slices are completely submerged severaltimes by the agitation of the bleaching bath and are thus thoroughlysoaked in the chemical solution which enhances their appearance andedibility upon final cooking. Reference to Fig. 3 will show how thepotato slices are finally removed from my tank It. In this figure, thefinal conveyor 60 has the lower end of its belt 65 lowered into theinclined trough ill of the tank and, by being made to revolve in thedirection of the arrows of Fig. 6, the chips are carried upwardly overthe edge of the prior art rinsing tank 5| where they are deposited intothe cold rinsing bath. Thus I have added a step to the former method ofpreparing potato slices and by this step have eliminated the occasionaldiscoloration of th former process.

It will again be remembered that my invention is not permanentlyattached to the various machines of the prior art, but it is merelypositioned adjacent thereto for use; and, since the conveyor 49 isarranged to slide upon a prepared track 50, it may be moved into anupper, inoperative position as shown in Fig. 3, or its lower end may bereadily slid into operative position over the side edge of the prior artrinsing tank 5| without moving any other part of my bleaching equipmentand Without disturbing or otherwise altering continuous operatingfeatures of the prior art apparatus with which it is used.

While I have shown the conveyor as being slidably mounted upon the rack50, it could as easily be fastened to the tank ID by hinges so that thesame may be put easily into position.

While I have described my invention in detail showing a specificconstruction, it is to be remembered that this has been by way ofexample only, and that changes in the actual construction might be madewithout departing from the scope of my invention as defined in thefollowing claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with continuous-process potato chip processingequipment having a rinse tank and delivery conveyor means for deliveringpotato slices to said rinse tank, a bleaching tank for bleaching fluid,means for heating fluid in said bleaching tank, longitudinal conveyormeans mounted on said bleaching tank and positioned longitudinallythereof, said longitudinal conveyor means being arranged to deliverpotato slices to said bleaching tank, means for driving saidlongitudinal conveyor means, input conveyor meam for delivering potatoslicesto said longitudinal conveyor means, means for driving said inputconveyor means, said input conveyor means being movably mounted on. saidbleaching tank so as. to be selectively movable either into operativeposition to receive potato slices from said delivery conveyor means orinto inoperative position away from said delivery conveyor means, outputconveyor means mounted on said bleachtank and positioned to take potatoslices from bleaching tank, said output conveyor means being arranged tooverhang said rinse tank, and

for driving said output conveyor means.

2. In combination with continuous-process potato chip processing,equipment having a rinse tank and a delivery conveyor means fordelivering potato slices to said rinse tank, a bleaching tank forbleaching fluid, means for heating fluid in said bleaching tank, atumbling barrel rotatably mounted in said bleaching tank, longitudinalconveyor means mounted on said bleaching tank and positionedlongitudinally over said. barrel, said longitudinal conveyor meansbeing. arranged to deliver potato slices to said bleaching tank, meansfor rotating said. barrel to move potato slices. therethrough, means fordriving said longitudinal conveyor means, input conveyor means fordelivering potato slices tosaid lon gitudinal conveyor means, means fordriving said input conveyor means, said input. conveyor means beingmovably' mounted on said bleaching, tank so as to be selectively movableeither into operatime position to receive potato slices from saiddelivery conveyor means or into inoperative position' away from saiddelivery conveyor means, output conveyor means mounted on said:bleaching, tank and. positioned to receive potato slices iromsaid:barrel, said output conveyor means being arranged to'overhang said.rinse tank, and means for driving said output conveyor means.

8., Incombination with continuous-process potatochi-pprocessing,equipment having a. rinse tank and delivery conveyor means fordelivering potato slices. to. said rinse tank, a bleaching tank forbleaching fluid, means for heating; fluid in. said bleaching. tank, atumbling barrel rotatabl-y mounted in said bleaching tank, longitudinalconveyor means mounted on said bleaching tank and positionedlongitudinally over said barrel, said longitudinal conveyor means. beingarranged. to deliver potato slices to said bleaching tank, meansfor-rotating said bar-rel to move potato slices therethrough, means fordriving said longitudinal conveyor means, upwardly inclined inputconveyor means for delivering potato slices to said longitudinalconveyor means, means for driving said input conveyor means, said inputconveyor means being movably mounted on said bleaching tank so as to beselectively movable either into operative position to receive potatoslices from said delivery conveyor means or into inoperative positionaway from said delivery conveyor means, output conveyor means mounted onsaid bleaching tank and positioned to receive potato slices from saidbarrel, said output conveyor means being inclined oppositely to saidinput conveyor means and being arranged to overhang said rinse tank, andmeans for driving said output conveyor means.

4. In combination with continuous-process potato chipprocessingequipment having a rinse tank and delivery conveyor means for deliveringpotato slices to said rinse tank, a bleaching tank for bleaching fluid,means for heating fluid in said bleaching tank, a tumbling barrelrotatably mounted in said bleaching tank, longitudinal conveyor meansmounted on said bleaching tank and positioned longitudinally over saidbarrel, said longitudinal conveyor means being arranged to deliverpotato chipstosaid bleaching tank, means for rotating said barrel tomove potato slices therethrough, means for driving said longitudinalconveyor means, a hood over said bleaching tank and said longitudinalconveyor means, upwardly inclined input conveyor means for deliveringpotato slices to said longitudinal conveyor means, means for drivingsaid input conveyor means, said input conveyor means being. slidabl'ymounted on said bleaching tank so as to be selectively movable eitherinto operative position to receive potato slices from' said deliveryconveyor means or into. inoperative. position away from said deliveryconveyor means, output conveyor means mounted. on said bleachingtank andpositionedto receive potato slices from. said. barrel, said outputconveyor means being. inclined oppositely to said input conveyor meansand beingv arranged to overhang said rinse tank, and means for drivingsaid output conveyor means.

HENRY D. FURNISSL References Cited in' the file of this patent

